The present invention is directed to vehicle safety restraints commonly known as "air-bags" that automatically deploy when the vehicle begins to encounter high decelerations that are associated with a crash.
Air bags are known to be effective in reducing injuries to occupants of crashing vehicles, being standard or optional equipment by most vehicle manufacturers. Conventional air bags are packaged permanently within a central portion of the driver's steering wheel, on or within a passengers dashboard, or on the back of a seat for rear seat passengers. Air bags are considered effective for mitigating injury to vehicle occupants when they are used in conjunction with seat belts, seat belts being needed most particularly for oblique and side impact collisions.
Unfortunately, many vehicles are not equipped with air bags, and many vehicles have air bags only for the driver, or front seat occupants only. Further, retrofitting conventional air bags to existing vehicles is impractical in most cases, even when the vehicle is one for which air bags are optional. Moreover, there are many occasions for people to ride in or drive an existing vehicle that is not equipped with air bags. In such cases, it is out of the question to covert the vehicle on the spur of the moment.
Thus there is a need for an air bag that is effective when used for drivers as well as front and rear seat passengers in existing vehicles, without regard to vehicle manufacturer's options, that can be installed very quickly and easily, and that is inexpensive to produce.